Stormy Nights
by Azmidiske
Summary: Stormy weather brings a small band of demon slayers to an inhabited cave in the mountains. What will be the fate of the young demon boy the slayers encounter?
1. Chapter 1

Outside the little crack in the huge stones forming the cave the rain was pouring so strongly that it echoed through the tiny hovel as one booming echo, as apposed to the pitter patter of millions of tiny drops that made up the storm. The thunder and lightening struck the earth with forces so powerful even the rocks seemed to shake in fear as they vibrated with each rumble.

Alone in this pitch black nothingness of the cave a small figure huddled in the corner. He was desperate for warmth, yet freezing, desperate for food, yet starving, desperate for safely, yet still scared to death. Deep glowing golden eyes were the only light in this thick darkness.

………………………………….

"Everyone stick together, we can not loose someone in this shit!" Even when he yelled with all his might to his small band of family and followers, his voice seemed like no more then a whisper even to his own ears.

Harumi was a brave and proud man, his hands and spear had spilled the blood of countless demons as far back as he could recall. That is what made him such a brave and proud man, for he was a demon slayer. Just like his father and grandfather before him, he has carried on the legacy as the most feared slayers in all of Japan. Even as he walked at the head of the group, he kept a firm grasp on the hands of his wife Zeda and only son Buroko. His wife and son also had their own reputation in the demon slayer legacy, just as their grandchildren will someday follow their footsteps as well.

Also trailing behind his wife and offspring was his best friend since child hood, Karoku, and his oldest and strongest son Dom.

The lantern Harumi's wife held was the only light evident among the pitch blackness, and even that light was getting whipped by the wind and rain so fiercely it was barely visvible. The small party had been trailing the base of what they hoped was a mountain for what felt like hours now, praying to find reprieve amongst the jagged cliff edges and hidden caves among the rocks. Regrettably not a single helpful shelter had been located.

"Wait, is that a cave?" Buroko yelled over the bellowing wind and rain. The whole band moved as one over to a barely noticeable slit hidden between two giant rock walls. From outside the hole looked like no more then the split of the rock formations, but when it comes to caves you never know.

Zeda was the smallest and thinnest of the party so without a word even being said she put her lantern in front as she turned sideways to wiggle into the entrance to peer inside. Sure enough, a nice sized cave came into her vision. Though it was to dark to gauge how far back the tunnel went, it was spacious enough to fit the whole group.

Silently she assessed this information, listening as hard as she could over the storm outside to see if the cave was empty of life. Regrettably she saw the one thing that would make this inviting hovel unusable, as well as make her blood run cold. A hardly visible pair of golden glowing eyes was fixed directly on her. She audibly took a nervous gulp as she stared into those little embers amongst the darkness, trying to determine whether they had become barley noticeable slits due to fear, anger, or consideration.

Without finding an answer to that question, yet still pleased the eyes remained where they were instead of barreling towards her, Zeda slowly backed out of the cave to her comrades.

"It seems to be occupied…" The middle aged woman said quietly. So quietly in fact the all four heads had moved in a foot closer to her to even understand it.

"Demon or animal." Her husband Harumi said equally as hushed as her own reply.

"Definitely demon, looks like just one though. What do you suggest we do?" She whispered back, considering the demon may be listening to them.

The face of every man in the little circle frowned in deep thought. If there really was just one demon in the cave they were confident it could either be flushed out or killed, whichever scenario presented itself. The pitch blackness did give the demon an advantage, though not a very significant one.

Finally Harumi decided it was worth a try, anything would be better then standing in the rain all night. With a quiet grunt of determination he grabbed the lantern from his wife's hands and headed for the entrance.

"Stay here" He said gruffly before disappearing from the group's view. Slowly he moved through the tiny passage and found himself in a cave just high enough to stand up straight. Far back against the wall those eerie eyes stared directly into his own.

"Demon" He said with force, attempting to sound intimidating. "This is our cave now, so I suggest you either leave willingly, or we can do this with force."

No response

"Can you understand me?" Harumi yelled as a particularly loud clap of thunder echoed through the small cave.

His heart almost felt like it stopped for an instant as the eyes disappeared from sight, making the demon invisible. Every ounce of his being told him to bolt right back out the cave entrance and face the storm rather then this unseen foe, but his pride kept his feet where they were. Intently he listened to every noise the cave walls echoed for any sign of movement, his eyes scanning the small field of vision the lantern provided. Absolute stillness met him, and in a way that was more frightening then an outright attack.

He reached behind his back to unsheathe his spear as he cautiously forced his feet to move forward in the direction the glowing eyes had been sitting. One hand clasped the hilt of his weapon in a death grip as the other was out forward as far as he could reach, lighting the small cave.

Finally to his great relief a small silhouette came into view. He could see what looked like a head of long white hair reflecting dimly from the lantern's tiny flame, but other then that the face was turned away and no other features could be seen. One thing was for certain though, it was a child.

Even demon children could be dangerous, a small voice in the demon slayers head whispered. Over his years of experience he has learned one important rule, never judge a demon by its appearance.

Dimly Harumi became aware of the small pile of half burned wood sitting right at his feet, either made previously by this demon or some prior occupant of the cave. While keeping an eye on the small figured huddled in the corner shaking, he slowly pulled two flint stones from his front pocket and immediately went to work.

Quickly the little weeds strewn on top of the logs caught a flame and he threw a few pieces of cloth from his pocket on the fire as well to keep it stable. Once he was sure the fire would soon be alive, the demon slayer stood and slinked back to the entrance, his eyes never once leaving the young demon.

"Zeda, Karoku, I think its safe, come in slowly" he yelled through the small crack to the outside. Slowly Karoku's questioning face came peering around the corner, followed closely by Harumi's wife and the two boys.

By now the fire was blazing with much more force, lighting the whole cave to the great relief of every human inside. Now with the light they could see a small pile of wood in the far right corner of the room, as well as a much clearer view of the cause of all their unease.

Saying it like that was almost ironic now though. Every human being in the rooms eyes were focused on the small demon curled up in a tight ball in the farthest part of the cave. The little demon boy was dressed in all red and his head was buried in his knees, his arms draped around them. He was visibly shaking, obviously even more scared of the slayers than the humans were of him. With a quick guess based on the body size he looked about 8, but for a demon who knew how old that made him. The gang of humans had also yet to see the boys face, so who knew for certain. Hidden inside that huge mane of hair was a pair of barley visible dog ears slanted back against his head, and they appeared to be shaking even more then the boy himself.

"Well?" Dom questioned, his lips forming an uncontrolled smirk at this new bazaar turn of events they have again managed to find themselves in.

"Well what?" His father countered, "Get Comfortable, it doesn't look like its going to be moving anytime soon, and neither am I." He said as he sat down, pulling his sword from his belt to set it aside.

"The poor dear, he looks scared out of his wits." Zeda said sympathetically as she moved ever so slightly closer to the little demon. "Hey young man? Young man? Were not going to hurt you, you don't have to be afraid."

No Response

"Hey Demon! You're supposed to reply when a lady speaks to you!" Karoku yelled, ending it with a grunt when every person in the room glared at him for only frightening the boy more.

At the word demon the young man had twitched visibly, and at an annoyingly sluggish rate his little head slowly rose from his knees to stare around the crowd. All any of the humans could do was gawk at the innocent little face looking up at them. Though none had fallen, tears were visibly hanging in his eyes, but what was most surprising was how human the boy looked. With exception of his blatant demon characteristics, he seemed just like any typical 8 year old who was scared out of their wits. A hanyou perhaps?

……………………………...

He was dead, so dead. As if things couldn't have gotten any worse than it was already, now there was an entire army of humans in his cave. They weren't just any humans either, one look at the outfit and weapon of those two that had entered his cave first and he knew they were demon slayers. Any second now it would be all over, any second.

He could hear the murmur of them talking to each other; he could even pick up a soothing motherly hum coming from one of them, but the exact words of it were lost to his young panicked mind.

"Hey Demon! You're supposed to reply when a lady speaks to you!" He wasn't sure why out of everything said that actually made sense, but he couldn't help when Goosebumps crawled down his body at the spite held in those first two words.

Slowly he raised his head, fully expecting each slayer to have their weapons branded in his face. Shockingly they were all just lying around by his old fireplace, every set of eyes on him. There were four men and one woman all together, they wore traditional clothing, but underneath the common garb bone plate armor from the bones of countless demons was partially visible. Each had a highly intimidating weapon of some sort, and the looks on their faces were even creepier. One young man looked a little worried and cautious, and another two were staring at him like they had just killed and army of demons, almost as if they had caught him instead of bumbling into his cave.

The biggest shock however came from the woman and man who was obviously her mate. The young boy saw sympathy in their eyes, something that in all his years of life had never been directed towards him.

"Well aren't you a cutey, what is your name boy?"

The poor boy could only blink dumbly at the woman speaking to him with such sweet words; only his mother had ever called him cute.

"C'mon don't be shy, we wouldn't hurt you." She said kindly as she rose and slowly moved a few feet closer.

With every foot she moved forward the young demon would tense more and more, his back now pushed against the wall as she finally stopped about 5 feet from him. She still had that sweet and inviting look on her face, just like any woman trying to comfort a frightened animal. Even so, he couldn't shake the overwhelming anxiety with every inch she was gaining on him.

"Be careful Zeda" Her husband said cautiously, sensing the building danger his wife may be putting herself in. Who knew how the young demon would react.

Zeda only gave her husband a glance and roll of the eyes before turning her attention back to the little demon. She sat down cross-legged and looked away from the child, putting on an expression of indifference.

For a few minutes the middle-aged woman just sat there, watching from the corner of her eye as the shoulders of the little demon slowly relaxed and the claws he was digging into the rock in a death grip loosened slightly.

She turned to him again, and still with that sweet smile on her face she asked, "So, You going to tell me your name yet? My names Zeda" She pointed a thumb to herself as she said her name.

After a few minutes of silence finally the little boy worked up enough courage to open his mouth, his name croaking out in a barely audible whisper. "Inuyasha"

A deep chuckle was heard behind them as an "Appropriate" was slurred out of Karoku's smirking mouth. However that smirk was erased in an instant when he saw his best friend and his wife glare at him with anger he had only seen them posses when fighting the most evil of demons. The old demon slayer gave them a questioning look, but the couple had turned away from him and focused back on the little demon boy.

Zeda sighed and turned back to the child, Inuyasha. She studied him again for a few minutes, deciding exactly how she was going to bring her main concerns out into the open.

"So do you live here? Where are your parents?" she finally said, not at all surprised when the young demon tilted his head to the floor and slumped his shoulders at the question.

Her suspicions were proved true at the young mans small outward gesture of an answer. One look at the poor boy and the motherly woman had known from the beginning that would be his reply. For starters he looked like he had not had a bath in weeks, his hair was matted and wild looking and his body was very undernourished. She suddenly felt horrible when she couldn't decide whether he reminded her more of an orphaned child or a feral stray dog. Some sort of creepy mixture of both, she silently mused.

She realized then that there was no way she would leave this boy alone in this cave when they started back on the journey home tomorrow. She could only hope her family and friends would understand. Zeda rose and walked back to the fire, noticing the almost fearful look in her husband's eyes, he could obviously tell her intentions for the young demon.

"I'll Take first watch, the rest of you get some sleep" Harumi said as he eyed his wife, dreading the morning when he knew Zeda would try to take the little demon child with them. Already he could feel trouble brewing.

Note: I believe this is one of my best starts yet; it seems 3 years of attempting to write fan fiction may have actually made an improvement. The next chapter is underway, though I may take a month or two to get it out there. Thanks for reading, and don't hesitate to tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

Slowly night transformed into day as the sun peeked its head out from over the horizon, rising gradually with each passing minute. Small slithers of light and the fresh smell of morning dew and rain shined threw the little crack hidden in the rocky Cliffside.

The cave was silent save for the light snores coming from the many slumbering bodies lying around the burnt out fireplace. Only two people were awake so far, and they were battling to the death in the longest staring contest either of them had ever experienced. Karoku's guard shift had begun long before the sun had risen that morning, but even before he had been kicked awake by his son the little demon boy had been up, just staring. Now there eyes were locked together as they had been since the instant he had awoken. He still was dead set on the belief that as soon as he turned away or closed his eyes, that little demon boy would attack. The more those gleaming golden eyes bore into his own the more he knew there was something wrong and definitely untrustworthy about the kid. The scene kept reminding him of the time he had this same contest with a cat once. It was highly unnerving, but letting the other win was strictly out of the question.

Suddenly one of the sleeping bodies started to stir and on instinct Karoku's eyes slid to his group. Immediately he realized his mistake as he looked back over to the demon boy. Those glowing eyes were still locked right with his own brown ones, as though the child hadn't even flinched at Harumi's awakening.

Dammit, no one beats the great Karoku in a staring contest, especially not some worthless kid he thought as he glared daggers at the little child.

As usual Harumi awoke in haste to find himself already half standing and looking blindly around the room. Over three occasions of waking up to demons hanging over you about to suck your soul can do that to a man. He flinched when his eyes locked with the demon boys, forgetting for an instant why there was a demon in their camp.

What was that kids name again? Inuyasha? He couldn't remember if that was right or not, but oh well, right now it was irrelevant.

The middle-aged man slid his eyes along the group, subconsciously counting heads before finally stopping at his friend Karoku. The man was scowling fiercely at Inuyasha, and briefly Harumi thought if his friend had been a demon, he most certainly would be hearing a growl coming from him.

Harumi let out a long sigh and turned to his wife. "Honey, time to wake up" the demon slayer said as he gently shook Zeda's shoulder. Once she was successfully roused he moved to his son and Dom and shook them both up at once.

Minutes later everyone was awake and sitting quietly around the old burnt out fire place. Zeda was already rummaging through her backpack and passing old deer jerky around the circle of friends. Once she had handed out a chunk to everyone she peered over to Inuyasha, who was still sitting in that corner of his.

The middle-aged woman had yet to witness any other expressions besides fear and indifference coming from the little boy so far, but now a new one was evident. His eyes were wide and locked on the delicious piece of jerky in Zeda's hand, almost drooling at the sight of it. With a knowing smile on her face she pulled out another piece and looked over to the demon boy, gesturing for him to come retrieve it from her hands.

I took him at least two minutes, but eventually the little boy managed to crawl to right outside the little circle of slayers and snatch his piece of jerky. He then plopped his little butt down and swallowed the whole piece in one bite, excitedly getting another piece handed to him right after.

Soon after the light snack everyone was packed up and ready to go. Just as all the men were walking from the cave Zeda leaned down and reached out her hand to the demon boy.

"Would you like to come with us Inuyasha? I couldn't live with myself leaving a child out here alone." She said as she smiled warmly at him.

Little Inuyasha's eyes light up for an instant, only to fade completely after looking over to all the men that had stopped dead in their tracks by the exit. All the men glanced from Harumi to the woman to the boy, then back to Harumi before rushing out of the cave without a word spoken.

The demon slayer released one of the most stressful sighs he had ever let out as he peered into his wife's pleading eyes.

"Zeda, would you come speak with me for a moment?" he said as he began walking towards the back of the cave.

Zeda gave her husband a dejected look before immediately replacing it with a cheery smile as she kneeled before the demon boy. "Why don't you cover your ears for a minute honey? Me and my husband need to have a little adult talk" She whispered as she patted him on the head and rose to follow her husband.

"Yes Ma'am." He said with a weary smile before plopping back to the ground and putting his little hands over his ears.

Cautiously she approached him, waiting patiently for him to begin the inevitable. "Zeda, you know we can't possibly keep an orphaned demon around, it goes against everything we stand for. And why this one all of a sudden, we have come across orphaned demons before and you never considered adopting one!" He said in a harsh whisper, relieved to finally be getting this argument off his chest. For some reason his wife was acting far more motherly towards the strange boy then usual, and to say it was scaring him would be putting it lightly.

"Against everything we stand for? Have you forgotten how many orphaned human children we have found new homes for? What difference does this one make? He is obviously just as lost as the rest were; you cannot seriously expect me to leave this one behind just because of what he is!" She said equally as harsh, the entire time glancing from the boy to her husband just to make sure the child wasn't listening. The cute dance like bob the boy was doing from one side to another proved his obliviousness to the conversation.

Poor Harumi felt lost for any words to help his argument in the matter. His wife seemed more set on this boy then the demon slayer could have imagined, but one thing was for certain, Harumi knew he wouldn't give up until there were no options left.

"Well what about when we take him home? How long do you really think he would last in our village? Not to mention we would never find a home willing to take him in and keeping him for ourselves is completely out of the question." He said, after a few seconds of contemplation.

Harumi's wife put on the most pleading puppy dog face she could muster, also adding a little hint of seduction to the look before speaking. The perfect mix that every woman knows will get her man to bend to her desire. "We will find him a home, his kind must be somewhere. And if we don't, I promise you I will never bring up keeping him for our own. Please Harumi; you know how much this means to me."

All Harumi could do was show off his most discouraged look possible; his wife has beaten him with that look before. Not that he was incapable of beating his wife in an argument, he had many times come out on top, but out of his whole life Zeda has only pulled that trick four or five times and it was only with matters she felt extremely strongly about. She had won, at least for now.

"Fine, but you better start looking for a home for the kid as soon as we walk out of this cave, this is a delicate matter, so don't push your luck." He said with authority before realigning his pack and trudging for the cave exit. That dread the demon slayer had felt last night increased ten-fold in that moment, only the gods themselves would know the outcome to this unruly turn of events.

The middle aged woman sighed dramatically. This move felt like the most selfless and at the same time selfish decision she had ever made. She knew she was walking on thin ice and at the drop of a hat she would probably have to turn the boy loose. Briefly she wondered if maybe this whole plan was a mistake, but one look back to the boy who was now staring at her intently raised her spirits immediately.

"Can I come?" he said hopefully as his fingers slid down from around his little doggy ears.

She gave him a warm smile as she helped him to his feet. "Of course sweetie, we'll find you a nice family to take you in, I promise." She said as she took the excited little boys hand and led them towards the exit of the cave.

"Wait!" The boy said with enthusiasm as is just remembering something. Quickly he released her hand and ran to a boulder at the far end of the cave. He disappeared behind the rock and came back out ten seconds later with a tiny satchel slung over his shoulder. It looked about the size of a woman's handbag but to the little boy it was the perfect size pack. "Almost forgot my stuff" he said with conviction as she again took his hand and disappeared through the cave's entrance.

Just as Zeda was expecting the face of every man outside the cave was staring curiously in her direction as she came into view, silently asking her whether the child was coming or not. She would have laughed had it not been such a serious moment, but instead she gave them all that motherly smile the old mid-wife seemed to have mastered to an art as she nodded her head as a means of saying "yes he will be staying and lets go" all in that one motion.

Every man's discomfort was obvious except for her son, the only one smiling back at her. Her happiness soared at his approval, she supposed only he being her real child truly understood her motives, he knew her all to well. After that brief interlude her husband Harumi turned around, examined the suns location for a minute, and immediately took the lead following along the cliffs edge, taking on a general north western direction.

All the men followed suit and joined the line behind him, Zeda and the boy picking up the rear.


	3. Chapter 3

Note: Stating the necessary and obvious, I do not own Inuyasha or any rights related to it.

Half the day past calmly and by now the mountain was behind them as they slowly left the cliffs to enter the more hilly lands of civilization. Already a small village was seen far in the distance in the valley below, but there would be no stopping there.

For a whole month now the demon slayers had been away from their home village helping a large town just east of the mountain. Demons had been pouring out of a huge cave near the city for weeks before they got word from a messenger about the town's plight. Many had died fighting the demons, but no one living in the area had the strength to actually enter the cave and find the source. All accept the trained demon slayers of course, who rushed to their aid immediately.

The threat turned out to be no more then an angry young Summoner demon intent on sucking every minor demon necessary from the mountain's core and flying them into the villages below. The demon's reasons were vague when the slayers finally found the summoners hide out, something about vengeance against the lower life forms crawling at the base of _his_ mountain. The demon slayers didn't waste much time listening to his details, before putting the insane young man out of his misery.

Now the small gang was at least on their way home from the long and tiring journey, and not one slayer could wait to return to the peaceful confines of their own homes.

"Let's rest here for a minute" Harumi said just as the band of friends entered a nice peaceful clearing. There was a perfect view of the huge valley from their spot, and even a nice slow moving creek perfect for refilling empty cantinas poured from the rocks above. They all leaned up against the rocks or sat down among the grass for the short break, setting their supply packs down as well.

The whole morning had been a pretty quiet one, but not for peaceful reasons. The tension in the air amongst the ranks was thick, death glares, shrugs and smug smiles were the most commonly used words all morning. Zeda was in charge of the smug smiles of course, and almost all of them were directed toward Karoku, who naturally had taken the lead in the death glare department.

Everyone else was fairly content with the situation though, and everyone had to agree the little demon boy wasn't being a bother in anyway, in fact he had not spoken a word all morning. Zeda watched the boy carefully as he stiffly sat down beside her, letting his pack slide off his shoulder to the ground.

She continued examining his state for quite some time as the men chattered to themselves a few feet away. The more the middle aged woman watched the boy the more she realized she just had to do something about his physical state. Not only was he obviously starving but he was extremely dirty as well. Right as the boy began peering up at her from the corner of his eyes because of her close scrutiny, she looked off into the distance at the little stream.

She smiled when she decided it was high and clean enough water for the boy to freshen himself up in. All the men glanced in her direction as she grabbed her pack and slowly rose to her feet, reaching her hand out to the boy to help him rise.

"Come with me Inuyasha, we'll get you cleaned up" Zeda said as she took his hand and started leading him to the deeper section of the stream. Luckily it was a hot summer day so she hoped the water would be decent enough temperature for a bath.

Once they had made it to the bank of the creek Inuyasha gave the motherly woman a queer eye brow cocked look at what she was apparently implying. He really hated baths, especially when in the presents of a crowd.

"C'mon Inuyasha don't be shy, you know how much better you'll feel after getting that grime off of you?" She said with encouragement, reaching out to the top of his coat to help him untie it. He took a step back when she reached for his jacket, putting his hands to his chest protectively.

"I hate baths" he stated simply as he moved his arms to a crossed position on his chest, giving her a stern look of determination.

She had to fight the urge to burst out laughing at that, his look was so dead set and cute she almost felt the urge to drop the matter. Of course she had handled his type before, and she knew there would be no quitting till the boy was sparkling clean.

"Well if you say so, but you know no family will want to take in a scraggly dirty little boy, you have to make a firm presentation if you ever want to be adopted." The middle aged woman said as she shrugged and got down to one knee to sift through her backpack. Soon after she pulled out her home made bar of soap and gave him an expecting look.

The young demon grumbled audibly as he gazed at her, realizing she definitely had a point. He peered over to the men at the other side of the clearing to make sure no one was paying attention before looking back to the motherly woman. Her expression had not changed at all, and he continued grumbling the entire time as he very slowly began untucking and removing his top coat.

Soon he was in nothing but his little loin cloth and it was apparent he was to shy to remove that as he almost cautiously walked up to the banks edge, tipping his toe into the water to test the temperature.

Zeda had a much better view of the boy's body now that he was no longer encumbered with his bulky clothing and Zeda realized how undernourished the child really was. You could see every one of his little ribs and his arms and legs were like withered little tree branches. She just then realized all she had given the boy to eat and drink since meeting him was two pieces of jerky and some water, and she knew immediately that some nice hot meal was definitely in order for the boy.

By now he was in the water fully, neck deep while he openly scowled at her, this was a change. "So why don't you want to keep me?" he said out of the blue while Zeda was reaching out to hand him the soap. The boy still had that slightly grouchy look to him as he snatched the bar, and briefly she wondered what had brought this subtle but existent new mood.

The middle aged woman sat down cross legged by the river bank and gazed at the boy before answering. The kind of question he presented was not one you want to say incorrectly to a forgotten child. "Well I have helped find a new home for many children; it's just another part of my job. I have on occasion gotten attached to one to the point of considering keep them for myself. But I could never bring myself to do that, there will always be a new set of children in need, I could never be so selfish as to keep the others and not help out the new ones." She paused for a minute to make sure she had his attention, and by now the boy was back to indifferent as he gazed at her and languidly scrubbed his hair.

"And I haven't had a child yet that I couldn't find a home for, of course, I have never tried to get one for a demon child, hmm" she added as she placed her hand under her chin thoughtfully. The boy's ears drooped noticeably at that, but no other emotion was seen as he dipped under the water to rinse out the frothy soap. By the time his head was popping up from the water she was already going on talking again.

"Tell me, what kind of place did you live in before? Did your family live in the woods, or a pack or village of some sort?"

It took the boy a few moments of scrubbing his hair as he gazed into the water's ripples before replying. "A village" He said quietly.

"Hmm, what kind of demons lived there? Was the village a specific type of demon or many different ones?" She asked, her curiosity quite peaked on the subject. Only once in her life had she actually seen a demon village and it was something she knew she would never forget. There were at least twenty different breeds of demons living in that village, all working together raising crops and living out their lives just as humans did. She had found the similarities very fascinating, and she had also noticed that only generally peaceful demons existed in that city.

"There were no demons" He finally said, sending her original thoughts about his old home to a spiraling halt. No Demons? Such a prospect did not seem possible to her, it is not like he lived in a village all by himself and him having lived with humans instead seemed equally bazaar.

"What do you mean?" The middle aged woman asked with surprise and confusion.

The little demon boy stopped the scrubbing job on his arms at that moment, keeping his gaze still locked too the water's surface as he stilled. I took Zeda a least one minute of sitting on the bank waiting expectantly for a reply before it occurred to her he wasn't planning on answering. Perhaps she needed to ask a less broad question for him to actually respond.

"Do you mean you lived in a human village?" She finally asked, thankful in getting a little nod from the boy in response.

Zeda continued to study his face for a long time after that, the exact moment she had seen the boys face the word hanyou had appeared in her brain, which may have been part of the reason she instantly wanted to help the boy. That thought had been shoved away pretty quickly afterwards though, many demons look a lot like humans. Now she was not so sure he was a pure blooded demon, but with such thoughts in mind how do bring up a controversial topic like that with a 7 year old child?

Regrettably she knew she had to ask the big question. Knowing the child's background is essential in finding a home that the boy could be comfortable in. Making head way would be impossible until such important information is known.

By the time her thoughts had finally slowed the young boy had already climbed out of the creek and was proceeding to rapidly shake the water out of his hair in a very puppy like fashion, sending little sprinkles in Zeda's direction.

She chuckled softly as she instinctively held up her hands as a shield from the rain, laughing even harder when the boy finally finished and looked to her in shock realizing what he had done, especially her reaction to it.

The motherly woman just smiled broadly at him as she handed him a wash cloth and wrapped her soap back up and stuck it into her pack while he dressed, she had to admit, never had she seen such a cute little boy before.

She kept her smile real as she proceeded to the final question of this interrogation, hoping the cheery mood about her might make things go more smoothly. "Alright I have one more question for you, and then we can continue on our way." She said, waiting till she had the boy's full attention.

It was a battle to keep that smile in place once the words were on her tongue, she just knew it may hurt Inuyasha's feelings in some way; already it was obvious this interrogation had left him slightly more detached then the beginning of the bath.

She quenched these annoying feelings as she finally voiced the question all this talk was in a sense truly leading up to. "Are you a half human?"

As she suspected there was no response to that question. He averted his gaze to the ground and remained that way. Zeda could not see his face standing above him as she was so the only mood change she could see were the slight droop to his little puppy ears as they began slanting back the more he looked down. The urge to put a comforting hand on his shoulder was overwhelming but she held herself back, whether Inuyasha was the sort of child to embrace such an action or push it away was unknown to her.

"It's okay Inuyasha you can tell me; I need to know to find you a home. Just a yes or a no is all you have to say." She said, kneeling down on one knee in front of the boy to see his face.

He looked so sad and lost the motherly woman could literally feel here chest clenching at the sadness in his eyes. Finally after a long pause he spoke up, just a whisper so quiet Zeda barely even heard the "Yes" slip from his lips.

At last most of the pieces to the puzzle were in place, and Zeda couldn't help but smile despite the sad boy in front of her. She could finally start looking for a kind family to take him in, and even though finding him one may have just become an even bigger challenge, it was a mission she was ready to take on.

"Don't worry about it honey, I'll find you a home if it's the last thing I ever do, I promise" She stated, finally giving in to the urge to embrace him by putting a comforting hand on each of his shoulders. Her hopes rose even higher when he looked up at her face while in her hold, the sides of his mouth crooking up into a very small smile.

Though she tried to hold it in, she couldn't help but giggle as she removed her hands from his shoulders. He is so cute, she silently mused.

The middle aged woman brought her attention back to her backpack as she began digging through it intently, pulling out her old hair brush from the bag's main pouch.

"Lets get started on those tangles shall we?" She said proudly, laughing when the boy looked at her in extreme fear.

Important: I probably would have completed this new chapter faster, but after finding a plagiarized version of my first chapter for this story on this website I kind of fell in a slump as far as working on it went. Which very much annoyed me, this was not only the start of the best story I have ever written, but also the fastest. It really made me sick; it took me an entire month to not be bitter every time I opened up this story to add some to it. Thankfully just a day before finishing this chapter or yesterday I went to her version of the story to find it removed. Needless to say I was jumping for joy, and I think I finally crawled out of my slump to continue on with my favorite of all my tales. And remember, plagiarism is only the single lowest thing any human could ever do to a writer. Her transgressions had for a time completely killed my desire to write, and that is only one of the worst feelings in the world.

As usual the next chapter should be out within a month or two, I'll be looking forward to your visit, and I hope you have enjoyed my tale so far. Cheers.


	4. Chapter 4

Note: So so sorry for the wait on this chapter everyone, but between final exams, Christmas, a vacation, new semester work, and on top of all that a one-shot, I really haven't had a minute to myself to sit down and work on this. I also spent a lot of time moving scenes from this chapter to the next one and visa versa, and I was getting ahead of myself writing moments to come instead of the fillers. All and all I had a lot of trouble composing this chapter in a fashion I found pleasing, which would explain the wait also.

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During the course of this bath Harumi's eyes were locked to his wife and the boy almost the entire time, it was obvious something was being talked about, something important. Naturally he assumed his wife was getting the child's background information and the middle aged man couldn't help the anxiety building within him, he wanted to know the story.

By now Zeda was working her hairbrush into the boy's matted tresses and briefly he glanced back to all the men sitting around him, every single one was staring right at him. "What?" he said defensively, giving all three of the men a scowl.

Karoku was the first to reply, and his tone was harsh as he smiled knowingly at his friend. "What do you think? I knew you were soft sometimes Harumi, but this is just plain absurd. Your wife is over there bathing and playing with a demon and your just sitting back and letting it happen. I thought you were a man."

"Hey!" Harumi yelled defensively. He knew his long time battle companion was a rather rude person most of the time, but he really had not expected Karoku to doubt his manhood over this. "I have not gone soft nor is this situation out of my control. Zeda would not have done this without my permission, so I granted it, at least for now. All I have to say is one word and the boy will be dropped just as fast if need be." Even as he said the words aloud Harumi questioned them as he got a picture in his head of the scenario playing out. His wife would never quit this charade without a tough battle of words. He almost visibly winced just thinking about it, but he held himself back for the sake of, well, his manhood.

"Well could have fooled me" Karoku said with chuckle before turning around and walking over to the little pool under the tiny waterfall to refill his cantina.

Harumi could only grumble and cross his arms defensively as he watched his friend turn his back to him. He glanced back to the boys to find them lost in thought with that far off look on their faces as they gazed at nothing.

"What about you two? Tell me your opinion." The demon slayer said staring at the dazed boys, both heads shot up in unison to him.

"Whatever makes mother happy" Harumi's son Buroko said to his father. Loyal to his mother as usual, as though he hadn't known that would be his reply from the beginning.

"I think your wife has lost it" Karoku's son Dom said with a chuckle almost exactly like his father's, also turning around and heading for the water.

Regrettably not a single reply offered Harumi an ounce of solace in this matter, just letting time play its course was the only alternative for now. Silently the old demon slayer returned to fuming as he watched his wife put away her brush and begin ushering the demon back to the group.

The young boy really did look much more presentably now that he was clean; in all honesty the boy's stench was noticeable before. Now his hair was stark white and perfectly combed and even though his clothes were still dirty, there was no body odor or muck clinging to his person. Harumi almost slapped himself when he realized he was close to smiling at the child and immediately became indifferent as they approached.

Zeda gave her husband that warm and seemingly ever present smile as she greeted him before speaking. "We'll be passing through the village of Hija in about two hours. Hopefully old Priestess Akara will take in Inuyasha; she has always been very helpful in finding parents for the children. That woman always seems to know some mother who lost her child and is desperate for another. Do you remember her?" She said to her husband hoping to improve his mood with the knowledge that she had already begun the hunt for a place to leave the child.

Harumi tried to concentrate on a face for this woman his wife was speaking of, and eventually the wise old priestess' features appeared in his mind. Akara was definitely his wife's best bet for getting rid of the child soon, never once has she turned down one of the orphans Zeda brought to her.

Of course, this was no ordinary orphan we were dealing with here. Harumi himself remembered assisting Akara in fending off a demon attack on her village in her younger years once, which was actually how they met the priestess. Though she may be sweet as a pea most of the time, she joined them in battling the demons like a fearless warrior that night. Needless to say, he had his doubts about her excepting a demon child.

"Yes I remember her, but aren't you forgetting something important here Zeda?" Harumi finally said, giving the little sheepish dog child at his wife's side a glance as he spoke.

"Like what?" His wife asked, seemingly oblivious to what Harumi figured to be blatantly apparent.

"Well, he is a demon; shouldn't he join his own kind?" The middle aged demon slayer said, completely baffled his wife could forget something that obvious and important. Harumi scratched his head in confusion for a moment as Dom's words repeated in his mind, and he wondered briefly if perhaps his wife _was_ really loosing it.

Zeda seemed lost in thought for a long time after his question as she gazed into her husband's eyes, not knowing where to start to make him understand. Coming right out and saying the boy was a half-breed right in front of the child may hurt his obviously fragile feelings, but her husband needed to know the truth before they reached the village.

The mid-wife looked down at Inuyasha to find him tense and looking intently at her, she could tell immediately he didn't want everyone to find out his secret. She would have to tell her husband when the boy was out of ear shot of the conversation, there was no reason for him to have to be embarrassed when it was avoidable.

"We will discuss that on the way to Hija, it will all make sense then." Zeda told her husband in hopes he would understand this was not something to discuss in front of a child.

After Harumi gave his wife a glance that bounced from her to the boy at least five times, it seemed the meaning behind her words sunk in. His body relaxed a little and his look transformed from confused to knowing instantly as he gave her a nod of understanding. She returned his nod with a melancholy smile before looking over to check the status of the rest of their crew. By now all of the cantinas were full except their own and Buroku standing next to them, so they all trotted over to the stream for a quick refill leaving the child standing alone.

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As the young half demon stood in silence watching all the adults he daydreamed of what this village was going to be like. In is lifetime he had only experienced one village, and all his memories of that place were rather warped from how it truly was in reality. All the people and houses seemed so dreary and gray in his mind; faces of the humans distorted into sickeningly rotten scowls and evil hatful words at his expense the only vivid conversations. Every muscle in his body tightened with anxiety just thinking about what he could possibly be walking into soon.

It was really hard concentrating on his thoughts with him excluded from the humans talking amongst themselves by the stream. They were talking about him, and though they thought he was out of ear shot from their conversation, he could hear it all quite fluently. All the men's words sounded harsh and angry, every word like little needles prickling up and down his spine.

Apparently Karuko was inquiring about how they were going to get rid of him, and he heard Zeda tell her story of the lady she thought would be willing to except him into her home. He was thankful the woman was not telling them about his secret. For some reason not even he truly understood, people finding out what he was always left him feeling uncomfortable and exposed.

It was obvious they did not want him with their group nor did they feel any remorse about abandoning him where he stood. The only person speaking on his behalf was the kind woman, whom he had already gained a strong love for in her kindness and sympathy to his predicament. Regrettably even Inuyasha was young enough to know that the words of a woman in human society carried little meaning in important matters. It was only a matter of time before he would find himself alone once again, whether from abandonment of some kind or violent force on the men's part.

Before he could control himself the moister in his eyes started building with the inevitable beginning of tears, but he fought them back as best he could by tuning out the argument going on between the humans at the waters edge. Instead he focused on the sound of the light breeze rustling the trees, and of the dozens of different birds chirping all at once to form a song like rhythm. Slowly he sat back down in the grass and crossed his little legs, setting his satchel in his lap and clutching it to his chest. He took a large whiff of the leathery material as he usually did to ease his mind, for her smell still lingered even after so long.

Regrettably today not even her scent really made him feel any better; loneliness was closing in fast, just like all those hours of hiding in the pitch blackness of his cave with nothing to appease his mind except his only belongings and the sound of the wind whistling through the entrance.

The natural instinct to just leap up and run into the forest was tugging the young boy's conscious; he briefly wondered if it would perhaps be for the better to stay alone like it seems his fate intended of him. Of course, since this morning fate had seemed like it wanted to give the young half demon a chance in meeting these humans. It was reason enough to stick around for now, and even if it created more problems in the end anything seemed better then returning to the wild all alone.

Before he even realized the adult's conversation had ended the entire pack of demon slayers were walking in his direction, and seeing all those strong and intimidating people heading for him like that brought a slight panic to the young child. He jumped to his feet instantly and stood there stiffly watching their approach, his pack still held in a death grip to his chest.

The two mean slayers walked directly behind their indifferent leader as they past right by the young half demon, Dom and Karoku giving him death glares as both passed on either side of the perfectly still young boy.

The kind woman and her son stopped directly in front of Inuyasha and both gave him small smiles of apology, for Zeda could tell just by looking at the boy that he had heard them talking. She wished now she had paid more attention and kept him away from arguments involving him, but only more of those are to come if she doesn't find a home for him soon.

She reached out and offered her hand to the boy before speaking, trying to decide what to say make him feel better. Regrettably nothing helpful came to mind.

"Come along Inuyasha" The mid-wife finally said, once again giving him an encouraging and apologetic smile.

He stared up at her in a look Zeda found completely indifferent and unreadable before he spun around and started following behind the leaders almost to the tree line by now, Buroku and Zeda picking up right behind the boy.

Inuyasha found these humans so unusual, the mixed emotions in each one of them was never ending. One second they would be angry and screaming and the next friendlier then anyone he'd ever met. All these mixed signals were highly confusing, and briefly he wondered if he would ever understand these things called humans. Regardless, he was glad to be with someone.

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In Honor of the Names: Though many of the names for the characters in this story I made up on a whim, there are a few that I brought from other locations and would like to give commemoration to the meaning and origin of the names.

Dom is the first not made up name I added to the story. This character, Karoku's son, was actually the name of a dwarf I got drunk with once. That had been a crazy party, and he really added to the weirdness and fun of the moment. I never saw him again, but I felt his name was appropriate to throw into a fan fic for memorable purposes.

Zeda was a name I made up, but at the same time I just transformed the name Zelda to something less obvious. Buroku and Karoku were named so similarly in commemoration to the weirdness of Miroku and Naraku's names being so alike, and now I wish I had not done that, for theses names even confuse me now.

I will probably do this again when any other names from other places or with meaning sneak into my story; I feel they deserve to be mentioned.

Whelp to wrap this up, thank you very much for reading, I will try to get the next chapter out in the next 1 to 3 months, oh yeah, and review! Thanks


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